


Six, Three, Four...

by RedRose206



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 17:40:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17944187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRose206/pseuds/RedRose206
Summary: It's dark. I can't see anything beyond what is right in front of me.





	Six, Three, Four...

_Six, three, four, two, nine._

It's dark. I can't see anything beyond what is right in front of me, and silence presses in on me like some tangible force. I lay cramped in the tiny space, focused on nothing but solving the puzzle in front of me. Some would look at it and immediately say it was impossible, but solving the numerical riddles is now almost second nature to me, as easy as breathing. This is the hundred and ninety-sixth of two hundred, so close to the end I can taste it, but time isn't on my side.  _Other_  numbers are steadily falling.

**Sixteen. Fifteen. Fourteen.**

I have to hurry. I'm on the hundred and ninety-seventh now. More numbers.  _Two, five, one, three, eight._  They're everywhere, controlling everything from our schedules to our budgets to our very perception of reality, but I don't have time to think of that now. Time won't wait for me to ponder its simultaneously mysterious and well-known master.

**Ten. Nine. Eight.**

Did I hear something? The silence is unnerving, but I don't know if noise would be better or worse right now. The quiet is tense, but sound might make me snap, even if I sometimes wish I could hear a clock ticking here, if only to reassure me that time hasn't stopped in this void that is empty of sound but for my breathing. Maybe I should scream, just to make some noise. That's probably not a good idea. No time, focus.

**Four. Three. Two.**

I need to stay calm, I'm almost done, I only have a few places left to fill now. But I still need to move faster. I only have seconds left now; I should be filling these gaps instead of thinking about filling them. _Nine, eight, three, one, two_. Nearly there. Suddenly, the numbers are gone, the spaces have vanished, leaving no trace they had ever been there beyond the rapidly dissolving after-image on my eyes.

**_Time's up._ **

The darkness is complete now, all I see are the lights dancing behind my eyelids, although they would probably make it harder to see - that is, if I could - and it feels like the small room is spinning, or maybe I'm falling, I can't really tell. Either way, I can't do anything about it. So I wait.

Then my world explodes. The black that was surrounding me has turned to white, silence to noise. Eventually, my ears stop ringing and my vision clears to show the white tiled false ceiling and bright purple wall beside me. The once unintelligible noises fade into the familiar sounds of air conditioners and children's cheers. I smile and sit up on my bed, letting my bag and a few other things fall to the floor as I look across the room to my desk, just in time to see my computer reboot.

"It's about time they put the power back on," I mutter to no one. My sisters and cousins are still celebrating the return of electric lights and whatever else they can think of. They never waste a chance to shout about something. I just smile a bit wider as I pick up the battery dead tablet I was holding before and plug it in, then turn it on.

"Maybe now I can finish that game of Sudoku."

**Author's Note:**

> An old thing I wrote way back when. Hope you enjoyed!


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